Job Description:

Trains (www.TrainsMag.com) has an immediate need for a freelance reporter familiar with the Canadian national and Quebec provincial criminal justice systems to monitor and occasionally cover (in person) a criminal trial in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

The freelance journalist on this assignment will write in English for Trains’ weekday News Wire and report on major developments in the trial, including opening and closing arguments, days on which important witnesses are scheduled to testify, jury verdicts, and (if necessary) sentencing, for same-day posting online. The freelancer may also be asked to write trial summaries or long-form feature articles for Trains’ print edition, which would be paid separately. The trial is slated to begin later in September and finish in December.

Willing to negotiate on compensation with the right person, which may include a combination of per story rates, per diems, and travel reimbursement. Payments will be made monthly by wire transfer in Canadian Dollars.

Writing clarity, knowledge of AP style, and speaking fluency in French are musts. Interest in the railroad industry is a plus.

Trains, founded in 1940, is known as The Magazine of Railroading with 90,000 monthly subscribers and newsstand readers. Trains’ News Wire is part of Trains’ niche website with more than 500,000 viewers per month and more than 50 new articles per week, including several exclusives and videos.